It’s no secret that the digital marketing agency has had an enormous impact on how advertising agencies are structured and how they function within the business world. Although agencies as we know them have been around since the early 1900s, it wasn’t until recently that they became such an integral part of the business—not just in relation to ad campaigns, but with regard to overall brand management and development. The digital marketing agency is here to stay, and its impact will only continue to grow over time. Here’s a look at what it means for your business and how you can stay ahead of the curve.
The shift towards artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) will certainly reshape marketing, but until it becomes smart enough to generate all content autonomously, humans will still be necessary. AIs can already learn what content performs best and, in many cases, create that same content with more precision than a human ever could—but they can’t keep churning out content indefinitely or create ideas on their own.
When AI becomes more autonomous and sophisticated, however, it will undoubtedly transform digital marketing as we know it. In fact, many are saying that AI is right around the corner; Gartner estimates that by 2020, one-third of customer interactions will involve AI-driven bots. The bottom line? For now, businesses should consider investing in AI for content creation purposes; it has some powerful tools up its sleeve.
The trend towards more mobile content
It’s no secret that more people use their phones than computers to search for information and watch videos on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook—and it’s also no secret that most digital marketing campaigns include some kind of video content. So where does all of that content get housed? Increasingly, it’s on mobile devices. If you run a digital marketing agency, there are two key ways you can capitalize on these trends.
First, create a site designed specifically for mobile users; second, start producing video content designed specifically for viewing on small screens. As your customers’ viewing habits continue to shift towards smartphones and tablets, make sure your digital marketing agency keeps up with them.
The rise of influencer marketing
Influencer marketing has taken over social media, and it’s slowly becoming a viable alternative to traditional advertising mediums like television, print, and radio. Instead of spending money on ads that can be viewed by hundreds of thousands or millions of people at once, influencer marketing aims to generate awareness by working with popular personalities who have a substantial following on social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter.
The idea is that if someone sees an ad posted by their favorite blogger or YouTube star, they’re more likely to take action than if they see an ad from a brand they don’t know. For example, when Kim Kardashian promoted the weight-loss tea company Flat Tummy Co., she was able to reach her 62 million followers in just one post—and her promotion led to a 500 percent increase in sales for Flat Tummy Co.
Offline advertising becoming online advertising
In recent years, agencies have begun moving beyond traditional offline advertising like TV and radio ads to online advertising on social media sites like Facebook and Google. In fact, according to a recent study by Forrester Research, 85% of all ad dollars will be spent online by 2016.
This means that agencies need to invest in modern tools and services to help them serve their clients’ needs in a digital world while still providing compelling creative concepts that yield measurable results. That’s where Agencies 2.0 comes in—the digital marketing agency has been using these technologies for some time now and can provide valuable insight into how they work, how they benefit your business, and why you should use them too.
Brands selling goods instead of ads
Google’s DoubleClick buyout changed all that, as it pushed Internet ad budgets from being primarily a cost to becoming a profit center for many major brands. The money became so valuable that several big brands—including Toyota, GE, and Anheuser-Busch—started their own digital agencies in recent years (and had great success).
This has created a new breed of agency, with companies like WPP Group’s VML, Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish, and Omnicom Group’s R/GA leading a wave of brand tech shops. These are hybrid agencies that focus on both creating ads for brand clients as well as selling ads on behalf of those same clients to other advertisers.
Clients paying on value, not cost
It used to be that advertising agencies billed clients by hours worked and charged clients as much as they could get away with. However, in today’s environment, where people are concerned about return on investment (ROI), your advertising agency needs to shift its focus towards producing results for its clients—and charging them based on those results.
To do so, you need to make sure you have a solid grasp of what value means to your business. Value can mean many things; it might mean increasing revenue or reducing costs. Whatever it means for your business, you need to come up with a way of measuring value so that you can charge accordingly.
Conclusion
We’re living in a world where digital influences everything from how we find products to how we consume news. In turn, marketing agencies are also evolving to keep up with modern-day trends and client expectations. As digital marketing becomes increasingly integrated into businesses of all sizes, agencies need to become experts in UX design, SEO best practices, and other modern-day strategies that will give them an edge over other companies in their industry.
And, as clients continue to demand more out of their advertising partners, agencies must be able to provide innovative solutions that not only get results but do so at a price point that’s affordable for both parties. While it may seem like there are tons of changes taking place in today’s business landscape, one thing remains constant: The importance of strategic planning.
